Which light do you recommend for my tank?

[Reefer_Marc]

Hello everyone!

Already in my last thread with my montis i mentioned of thinking about upgrading my lights. Now after my holidays, during which our fuse tripped twice at home, after coming back i noticed one of my hydras went out, it seems to be the power supply that failed.
I will go to my LFS tomorrow to check if thats still available, but unsure if thats a possibility to just replace that. My skimmer power supply also failed 1 years ago and it was not possible to replace (not available), so i dont have much hope for it.

So i am checking whats a good replacement light? I have a red sea 425 tank, which is 120cm (47“) by 55cm (22“) by 57.5cm (22.6“).
Currently have two hydra 26, with 90 watts each.

In my local LFS they have radion xr15w g4, th red sea reefled and a lot of daytime lights available. I am not familiar at all with th daytime brand. The red sea 90 (which i guess replaces the ai hydras i have, since they came with the red sea tank) is for both lights 1000 dollars. The Radion, if i need two, is 1300 dollars.
So im thinking, should i just replace with the red sea lights, or spend more with the radions?

I also read a lot about orpheks, which delivers here to switzerland too. But i think one natura iCon is not enough for my tank size? So i am leaning towards the LED bars of orphek, just the question of which ones and how many to get?

The tank is mainly softies/lps for now, but also has 2 montis and a stylo, maybe going for some more easy sps in the future but no plans currently to go heavy sps.

I am also open to any other suggestions for lighting!

Thanks very much!

 

[JonoH]

All those are good options.

I am running Hydra's and have replaced transformers before with just Generic one's from a local electrical supplier (not sure what you would use for that in Switzerland though) - that may be worth trying also as a quick fix?

I replaced the transformer on my Neptune Cor-20 pump the same way a couple of years ago!

 

[Reefer_Marc]

All those are good options.

I am running Hydra's and have replaced transformers before with just Generic one's from a local electrical supplier (not sure what you would use for that in Switzerland though) - that may be worth trying also as a quick fix?

I replaced the transformer on my Neptune Cor-20 pump the same way a couple of years ago!

i will check for that, just that the lights have these special plugs thats coming directly out of the transfomer.
So i would have to find one with the same plug.

Plus im thinking if i should replace the lights anyway? Since they are already 6 years old, or how long will LED lights hold? I read before something about the Output going down after time.

 

[VintageReefer]

Can you get this?

Meridian 35

Specifications: Recommended Mounting Height: 10-14" (25-35cm) above waterline with OHM Balance Optics 225watts max power draw Case dimensions LxWxH: 34.5" (87.65cm) x 8.5" (22cm) x 1.15" (2.29cm) Weight: 8.75lbs (4kg) 36.5" (92.7cm) long including plug and antenna cover 1.4" (3.56cm) case...

reefbreeders.com

 

[Reefer_Marc]

Can you get this?

Meridian 35

Specifications: Recommended Mounting Height: 10-14" (25-35cm) above waterline with OHM Balance Optics 225watts max power draw Case dimensions LxWxH: 34.5" (87.65cm) x 8.5" (22cm) x 1.15" (2.29cm) Weight: 8.75lbs (4kg) 36.5" (92.7cm) long including plug and antenna cover 1.4" (3.56cm) case...

reefbreeders.com

Seems they do deliver to switzerland, with a bit more than 100 dollar shipping. Dont know this light yet, i will check it out, thanks!

 

[VintageReefer]

Seems they do deliver to switzerland, with a bit more than 100 dollar shipping. Dont know this light yet, i will check it out, thanks!

It’s brand new and came out around January and it’s an incredible fixture. It’s modular and has built in t track on the sides and you can add on their matching led bars down the line if you want.

They changed the game and eliminated the red and green channels that most people don’t use, and replaced with blue, near uv and white

The new optics are great and give a excellent spread.

I’m running this on my reef and it’s really impressed me. It’s silent also and cooled by the chassis, it’s a full length aluminum heat sync.

The app is simple to use and reliable. There’s cloud based schedule sharing integrated in, you could get my schedule (or anyone else sharing) loaded to your light in seconds

What I like most about it is that the increased amount of blues don’t get washed out when you turn up whites. Normally I avoid whites tok much becise it makes the tank plain and dull. Now I can turn up the blues to get the pop I want, AND turn up whites, without loosing it. I have a tank that looks like daylight, but also has neon corals standing out.

 

[VintageReefer]

I attached pics, some of the same corals or views, but in different lighting spectrums so you can see how they look with different settings

 

[Reefer_Marc]

I attached pics, some of the same corals or views, but in different lighting spectrums so you can see how they look with different settings

Thank you very much, your tank is amazing! I love all the colours that are really popping. The light looks great, i also like that you can add the bars later if needed. Definitely one of the final contenders so far!

That is, if i cant find a replacement for the transformer. Which i found on the red sea website should be available, also found some stores here that should carry the AI hydra 26 transformers. Looks a bit different on the picture, but i guess its worth a try before chucking away my lights for good.

 

[Reefer_Marc]

So, ive got an update.
I managed to get a new power supply through my LFS and installed it. Now the new „problem“, the light with the new power supply is quite a bit brighter than the other one! I even dialed down the light by 20%, as to not shock the corals, but some still bleached lightly! So i turned it down another 15% and ordered a 2nd power supply to replace the other one.
When both are new, i will slowly ramp up the light a bit again.

As per my other post with my struggling montis, i think the power supplies could really be the culprit. Even though i put my lights on 70 watts, i think what came out was closer to 40 to 50 watts, seeing the differences now.
So we will see!

 

[Hooz]

So, ive got an update.
I managed to get a new power supply through my LFS and installed it. Now the new „problem“, the light with the new power supply is quite a bit brighter than the other one! I even dialed down the light by 20%, as to not shock the corals, but some still bleached lightly! So i turned it down another 15% and ordered a 2nd power supply to replace the other one.
When both are new, i will slowly ramp up the light a bit again.

As per my other post with my struggling montis, i think the power supplies could really be the culprit. Even though i put my lights on 70 watts, i think what came out was closer to 40 to 50 watts, seeing the differences now.
So we will see!

Also look into @luxdium upgrades for your Hydras. They'll turn you Hydras into a whole new light (they have lenses too now) with the widest blue band on the market. There is a cost involved, obviously, but it's still a lot cheaper than buying all new lights.

ReefBreeders didn't "change the game" by eliminating the red/green channels... Luxdium did it years ago. ;)